I’ve been going live on Facebook for over a few months. During this time, I’ve learned a ton about what works and what doesn’t work, and decided I wanted to put together this series on how to market using Facebook. More specifically, how to market your network marketing business using Facebook Live. During this series, we will dive deep into exactly how to go live.
Let’s start by talking about why Facebook Live is so important right now versus other marketing tools. The big reason is that Mark Zuckerberg has stated he will be all over video for the next 2-3 years in both Facebook and Instagram. If you watch any of his recent talks, live video is where Facebook is at, headed and will stay for a while according to Zuckerberg. They are even moving into “Facebook TV”. It’s a big deal.
Before you go live for the 1st time or for the 1 millionth time, I want you to make sure you are creating video content that meet the below two criteria.
Marketing using Facebook Live, Part 1
1. Create thumb stopping content You want to be able to create content that stops people from scrolling past your posts. There are two ways to help you do this that I don’t see a lot of people doing. First, put a description in your live video!!! Second, use emojis. You may think they are dumb (and so do I) but fact is that people like them.
You may be wondering why I say, “thumb stopping content”. Because 90% of Facebook users login to Facebook on their phones and a whopping 40% of Facebook users have NEVER logged in on a computer – EVER!!
2. Start thinking about crafting your message for maximum shares Stop creating content for likes or comments, and start creating for maximum shares. To do that, I want you to make sure that you put the focus on great content and not frequency of going live. I’d rather you go live less often with better content than to go live just because you think you need to.
The purpose of going live or using any other marketing tool should always be to drive your business. With that goal, you can easily begin to plan your Facebook Live strategy. Every decision you make about going live on Facebook should revolve around the goal of driving your business.
Let’s look at a few key things you can be doing to use Facebook Live to drive your business.
- Have a call to action! My call to Action is simple; I want people to be liking my Page, and selecting to be notified when I go live and sharing my content. Your call to action doesn’t have to be the same as mine. Yours may be to have people comment, share, raise their hand for a free sample or to opt in to something you’re giving away. Bottom line is, to tell people what you want them to do with your content!
- Know your audience Who are you wanting to reach? Who is watching your videos? Use the analytics tools Facebook has available for you to see who is looking at your content and adjust if it’s not the audience you want.
- Have a content calendar Rather than trying to think of a topic on the fly every day, come up with a plan, and if possible, a series of videos that are related to each other. Mapping out your topics in advance will help you create better and more cohesive content.
The Nitty Gritty: Your Facebook Live Gear
In my opinion, the importance of equipment goes in this order: lighting, audio then camera. If you are going to start small, start with your lighting, then a mic and then your camera.
For purchasing gear, there are two sites I like to visit: iOgrapher and Amazon. iOgrapher is specifically for mobile gear and they do a great job of showing you exactly what you will need for creating video with your phone. Amazon… what is there to say? It’s Amazon, where you can buy almost anything! Below are my top 4 suggestions on gear that I have or plan to purchase.
- The Rotolight NEO On-Camera LED Light is compact, so you can travel with it but is also powerful and creates a professional lighting setup. Set the light up right behind your camera’s tripod and you are ready to go! I have not purchased yet, but the reviews are awesome, and I plan to purchase soon.
- If you don’t want to make a huge investment up front, buy yourself a selfie ring! They really do a great job and are inexpensive. A $15, clip-on ring light should be your first purchase if you are just dipping your toes in the water.
- You will need to have a tripod if you are using your phone to record your videos. I highly recommend the little flexible ones that can be set up to record a video practically anywhere.
- A great starter option for audio is a lapel microphone. If you search on Amazon, you will want to make sure you are looking for one that is specifically meant for phones.
There is a lot to learn about going live on Facebook and we are just getting started! I’m excited to share more with you in part 2 of our 4-part series!
